Today is where it begins :)

So after a fantastic going away party and many tearful goodbyes I have arrived in Atlanta at the "staging" event. We are staying at a swanky hotel in Buckhead, ATL and had an orientation of sorts today from about 2-7pm. We got LOTS and LOTS of info that my head is just swimming. But already I am loving every minute of it :)

Coming into today I had no idea how many other volunteers would be going, why I was crazy enough to choose to do this, and if I would have any friends to speak of in these volunteers. However, I am happy to report I now have some answers. Right when I got off the plane from MSP to ATL I met up with 2 fellow Minnesotan girls on their way to Zambia. So we snagged a cab and made our way with our bags to the hotel. From there we put our stuff in a room and walked up the street to a diner for some lunch. It was so great talking with people going through the same things and to find I was not the only one who was an emotional basket case for the weeks prior to leaving.

Afterwards we lined up and turned in our stacks and stacks of paperwork, got our government issued passports and found our spots in the room training would take place. We then, like I said, were bombarded with information about everything that was to come like Peace Corps objectives, safety and health issues, anxieties we were feeling, and just logistics. And we did some ice breakers along the way including some skits, drawing, and chart making.

There are 59 of us headed to Zambia tomorrow either going into my program of Community Health Development or in Aquaculture and setting up fish hatcheries. Everyone I met here has been great, both fellow volunteers and the staff. They said today that we should look around because we were now a family of 59, here to support one another through this incredible journey that is lying ahead of us. I looked around and was so excited about the people I will be serving with and this amazing opportunity I have to live life with them.

And now for the prayer requests:
1. For the forming of solid relationships with my fellow volunteers and opportunites to share Christ with them and just to really love and serve them.

2. Strength during the 10 week pre-service training sessions. (The first 10 weeks will be an intense time of spending about 8 hours a day, 6 days a week studying one of the 6 languages we will speak in the village, the culture, and technical skills. Then at the end we have to pass a test before being sworn in.)

3. Good health...I will get sick sometime over the next 2 years, but there is a high risk of getting malaria, dystentary, and other diseases from parasites and obviously a risk of HIV/AIDS.

4. Safe travels...I leave ATL tomorrow evening at 7:25pm, fly abot 15 hours to J-berg South Africa, and then have another flight at about 9pm on Thursday to Lusaka, Zambia. Pray that luggage will make it and that they aren't over the weight limit!

5. And most importantly that I will recognize God's grace daily. Things won't go perfect, but if I rely on His grace and His provisions it will all work out. God is good and it's all for His glory :)